Tony Phillips, Deputy Head Pastoral, talks about the pastoral system at Mount House
The Mount House Pastoral System
Every student is known and valued, given attention and respect, and the support they need when they need it. Our pastoral care is all about understanding and dealing effectively with the challenges and the pressures that young people face in our world today.
The Form Tutors are supported in their pastoral work by a Head of Year. The Head of Year works closely with Mr Phillips, the Deputy Head (Pastoral) to ensure each child at Mount House School experiences outstanding pastoral care.
The most recent ISI inspection of the school rated the pastoral care as ‘excellent’.
Form Tutors
The Form Tutor is much more than the member of staff who takes the register each morning. The Form Tutor is the first point of contact for a student who is seeking support and guidance, as well as for parents who would like to discuss their child’s progress and welfare. Mount House School takes pride in the promotion of a positive ethos. In this, the Form Tutor is a vital part. This ethos is supported by the knowledge and understanding the Form Tutor has about each and every member of the tutor group and the compassionate way in which each tutee is supported and encouraged. There are one-to-one meetings between Form Tutors and tutees once every half term and this meeting helps the Form Tutor to really get to know each tutee and to build a positive relationship with them.
Important to the success of the pastoral system is the regular communication between Form Tutors and members of the academic and wider pastoral team. This ensures there is an holistic approach in making decisions about each tutee.
Head of Year
Every year group has a Head of Year and they are responsible for the effective leadership of their Form Tutor teams to ensure the highest quality of pastoral support is provided for our students. Their role is to forge constructive relationships with students and their parents to ensure there is a collaborative partnership working in the best interests of the student.
Head of House
There are four Heads of House. Every student and staff member are assigned a House. The House system is a long-standing institution that creates competition, provides opportunities to take on responsibilities and helps in bringing the school community together. Each House could be described as a ‘family within a family’, providing a great sense of belonging and support throughout their Mount House School journey.
Peer Mentors
Our Year 12 Peer Mentors have been externally trained to provide their fellow students with a range of pastoral support such as exam worries and friendship problems. Easily identifiable with their yellow lanyards, the Peer Mentor volunteers have been trained to pick up on warning signs, talk to their younger peers and inform the senior pastoral staff if they have any concerns about a student.
Well-being
We are only too aware of the pressures that young people face in modern times. They are subject to greater pressures than any generation before them. It is therefore vital that the environment around them is a happy and healthy one, and that they feel safe and secure, both physically and mentally.
At Mount House School, we understand that children’s well-being is so very important. Happy children have a better chance of learning more and reaching their potential. One of our senior leaders, Ms Smyth, has responsibility for well-being at the school and has developed a comprehensive wellbeing strategy based around the six pillars of well-being – diet, sleep, physical activity, connecting, doing and giving. We offer a range of coaching around these six elements throughout the academic year, enabling our students to promote their own physical and mental health at school and beyond.
